For the 12 pdr I cast 1.5 inch zinc balls, and for the 10 pdr 1 inch zinc balls. I have used .65 cal. lead balls in the 10 pdr; they tend to slide along the ground. There was one time when we fired a 3 inch smoothbore Parrott using the .65 lead balls at 100 yards. The ground in front of the target frames had been scraped smooth. We got quite a few hits on breakables on two 8 foot wide frames, and the group wasn't much wider than that. Some of the balls went over the 6 foot high frames.

I have used shell in an 8 inch mortar at Grayling for a special Michigan's 150 year celebration. This was done on their regular artillery range. I used shells with time fuses for the History Channel Artillery Games program, but the cups sealed the bore to well to ignite them. Making time fuses has to be done by someone who really knows what they are doing, and then you have to be on a military range to use them. Think about what do you do if the fuse fails and then you have to retrieve the ball. Also fuse have been known to explode the shell too soon. Impact fuses are easier to make but have to be fired from a rifle. They don't always work either. Again this would have to be done on a military base.

I am the gun commander for the First South Carolina Vol., also sometimes are battery is referred to as McIntosh's or the Pee Dee Lt. Art. I have met Steve, and may have met you also.